Why Culture Feels Weird Right Now
Myth Morphing Is A Real Thing
I’ve been trying to name why things feel so strange in our present moment.
Not just politically or culturally, but at work, in institutions, even in our own lives. There’s a low-grade fever in the air. A sense that familiar language isn’t landing the way it used to, and that old explanations feel thinner than they once did.
The best language I’ve found so far is this: we’re living through a season of myth morphing.
The stories that once shaped us haven’t disappeared. They’re still pointing at something real. Still carrying something we need. But they’re also not working the way they used to…at least not in their old form.
And it’s that in-between space, where a story still matters but no longer fits, that creates the friction we so easily feel.
In this reality, we’re attempting one of the hardest things humans ever try to do: hold onto what’s essential while letting the form evolve.
And through that lens, you start to see it everywhere. In institutions that feel caught between past and future. In brands carrying a message that once worked, but no longer lands the way it used to. In people who sense they’ve outgrown a way of being, but don’t yet have language for what comes next.
This tension isn’t always a sign it’s time to start over. Sometimes it’s a sign that the story is still meaningful. It just needs to be spoken in a way that fits the moment we actually find ourselves in.
PS. You can see this same dynamic play out at every scale, from democracy, religion, and companies all the way down to pop culture. One small example is The Muppet Show reboot last week. I shared a quick take that unexpectedly took off.